#PlayTogetherStayTogether at Aylesbury RFC
Ex-professionals and players from Aylesbury RFC joined forces in a celebration of the #PlayTogetherStayTogether campaign.
Players from Aylesbury RFC and Minchinhampton RFC came together for a game that was streamed live on England Rugby platforms and featured a number of ex-professional players. It was an evening of laughter and enjoyment for everyone involved as spectators were treated to an exciting evening of grassroots rugby.
The #PlayTogetherStayTogether campaign celebrates friendships made through rugby and encourages people to pick up their boots and stay involved in the game. The likes of Delon Armitage, Matt Banahan, Tom Wood, Lee Mears and Phil Vickery took part alongside local players, with Tindall captaining Team Tinds in the red shirts and James Haskell taking charge of Team Hask wearing white.
Both sides played an exciting brand of rugby in an 11-try game that ended in a draw (36-36), Team Hask gritting their teeth in the second half after trailing 14-12 at the break.
It was Team Hask that scored first, Mike Durose finding a gap and dotting down under the posts. The men in red responded soon after with a score of their own through Ben Pope, whose show-and-go in his own 22 opened the gap for an 80-metre race for the line.
Tom Newberry was next to score for Team Hask after ex-Northampton and England No 8 Tom Wood broke the defensive line, offloading in style to send the fly half on his way. Team Tinds responded almost immediately, however, as Tom Fitzcharles capitalised off the back of an undefended ruck.
HT: TINDS 14-12 HASK
Team Tinds came out firing in the second half as ex-England full back Delon Armitage scored in the corner soon after the resumption. The 38-year-old did well to beat the last defender as he found the line for Team Tinds’ third try of the evening.
Ben Holcombe got Team Hask back on the front foot with a try in response, which was followed shortly after by Harvey Goddard’s effort just minutes later. Suddenly the score line favoured the men in white, with just 20 minutes left to play.
Ryan Peacock stepped up for Team Tinds with a quick tap penalty, his quick thinking opening the gap for him to bundle his way over the line. As the game entered the final ten minutes, Team Hask pulled away with two quick-fire scores from Alex Ingols and Tom Hothersall. With a 12-point lead and just five minutes until full time, the game was all but finished.
But a moment of magic revived the hope for Tindall’s men in red as they scored a sensational try under the posts. Now trailing by only 7 points, Team Tinds had just minutes to command a result before the full time whistle.
Spectators were treated to a grandstand finish as Tindall broke free from the defence’s grasp in the final moments of the game, running in a 20-metre try to the delight of his teammates, and Armitage slotted the conversion to secure the 36-36 draw.
